Apple iMac G5

The original Apple iMac G5 was introduced in August 2004 in 17-inch and 20-inch sizes. It moved the processor and drives behind the LCD inside a clean white enclosure, eliminating the iMac G4’s separate base and articulated arm.

Configurations used 1.6 or 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 processors, SATA storage and NVIDIA graphics. The two screen sizes share one generation and are documented together because their architecture and enclosure concept are closely related.

Notable Features

• All major components were mounted behind the 17-inch or 20-inch widescreen display.
• PowerPC G5 processors brought Apple’s 64-bit desktop architecture to the consumer iMac.
• A removable rear panel provided unusually direct access to memory and internal service points.

Historical Significance

• The design established the all-in-display form that later Intel iMacs continued.
• It was the third major iMac enclosure concept after the CRT G3 and articulated LCD G4.

Collector’s Notes

• Inspect the power supply, capacitors, cooling system and LCD for age-related faults.
• The serial label and screen size identify the exact processor and factory configuration.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Apple iMac G5
Manufacturer	Apple
Launched	Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Discontinued	May 2005
Country	United States
CPU	PowerPC 970fx G5 at 1.6 or 1.8 GHz
Units Sold
Operating System	Mac OS X 10.3.5 through Mac OS X 10.5.8
I/O	USB 2.0, FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, modem, audio and optional AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
Keyboard	Apple USB keyboard and mouse
Storage	80GB or 160GB SATA hard disk and slot-loading Combo drive or SuperDrive
Sound	16-bit stereo sound with integrated speakers
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64MB VRAM
Display	Built-in 17-inch 1440 x 900 or 20-inch 1680 x 1050 widescreen LCD
ROM	New World ROM firmware
RAM	256MB DDR; expandable to 2GB
CPU Speed	1.6 or 1.8 GHz